Revival 2020 – the opening of the old depot through the lens of Richard Hryciow

The old depot has a new face. Motor Journal was there

After thirty-four years of decay, things have moved forward in the old depot of the Brno racing track. At least in appearance. Instead of crumbling plaster, the hundred-meter remains of the pits are now covered in graffiti with twenty-seven scenes from the circuit's rich history. The subject was created in the editorial office of Motor Journal.
First of all, thanks for the great idea. In the two months that something was happening around the old depot, I heard the question probably a hundred times: That's great, who invented it? I wish I could say "I". But actually he was Vladimir Koudelka, for the well-known Vl.K, Brno patriot, barefoot activist (in the good sense of the word) and sports enthusiast. It was he who thought of spraying the wall. And in addition to the idea, he also contributed to the whole event by raising money.
Thanks to him, we got together in the lineup of Karel Kupka - Sylvie Zouharová Dyková - Jiří Smetana and started to discuss what should be on the wall with two representatives of the Brno spray scene, Pavel Beneš and Jakub Nemček. In the end, it turned out to be the best option to extract the archive of Zdeňko Zavřel and his unique photos. And transfer selected motifs from them to the wall almost one to one.
In fact, it was not an easy task at all. That wall is not a kilometer long, but only a hundred meters. So we had a lot of "Sofia's Choices" ahead of us. But try it yourself: you can choose only three personalities and three cars from the interwar racing period. Chiron, Bugatti. Okay, that's clear. But what next? Auto Union, Mercedes-Benz, Alfa Romeo, Talbot, Wikow, Zetka... Nuvolari, Caracciola, Von Morgen, Lang, Lobkowicz, Pohl. What about other supporters, without whom the circuit would not exist? Baťa, Junková, Masaryk, Štursa... there were so many of them! And it continued until 1986, when the old circuit wrote the last chapter in its chronicle.
It took maybe dozens of hours of work before the motifs were chosen. Then it was time for the sprayers to go to work. The beginning was set at ten o'clock on Friday evening two weeks before the planned christening ceremony. That day was a full moon and a lunar eclipse on top of that. Why in the evening? One would expect the sprayers to fulfill the clichés of illegally scribbling on walls and running from the police. It was even more of a surprise when you found a group of five people with a computer and a data projector in the depot.
So here's how to effectively make beautiful graffiti: Take a photo. Convert it in the computer to vectors and a six-color black and white scale. Light the wall with this image and spray carefully. It sounds simple like that, but seeing the precise spray strokes was a great experience. If anyone doubts that graffiti is art, they should see Pavel Beneš at work. Really. The precision was incredible. The result of an all-night shift was a basic sketch transferred to the wall. Basically, it was a bit like children's coloring books. From that moment on, there was no reason to work at night. Although the work in the following week was governed more by the weather than by the time of day.
We managed to get twenty-seven motifs on the wall, some of which you can see in the photos. The best thing you can do is get in your car or motorbike and go to see this new open-air gallery.
Finally, just a few thanks to those whose names have not yet been heard: the trio of construction companies Přemysl Veselý, OHL ŽS and Terrabau, who prepared the wall for the sprayers. To the Bosonož deputy mayor, Miloslav Dočekal, and the secretary of the local town hall, Miloš Vrážel, who took care of everything from a legal point of view, including the closure of the adjacent road. City of Brno, Mayor Markéta Vaňková, her deputy Petar Hladík and councilors Mark Fišer and Jaroslav Suché for their support, including financial support. And also to all former competitors who came to christen the old depot on June 19 and who wrote a story decades ago that we can remember now. Thanks also go to those who, even in bad weather, brought their machines to the ceremonial christening and created an incredible backdrop (visual and sound) for the entire celebration.
We hope that the renovated depot will become a symbolic place where lovers of Brno's motor racing history will meet more often and regularly. And above all, we wish the old depot to see, in addition to a new face, a dignified use that will not bury the tradition of this place.

Text: Karel Kupka and Jiří Smetana
Photo: Richard Hryciow